Since we began this mission nearly 13 years ago, we have worked to build a Team and a program to address the behavioral health issues of our emergency services personnel and their families.
Starting with little to go by, our program, along with many others like ours, have grown to provide many resources to care for our folks. It is important for us to be able to measure our success as that knowledge is used to improve all we do. Numbers of people served, difficulties that they experience, having sufficient trained peer team members and clinicians, providing training to inform our responders, recording what problems they are experiencing, the time of year they occur, are all used by us to constantly evaluate what we do.
Admitting when things are not working, and adjusting our response are all necessary to the future of helping others appropriately. And, remembering that we need to continue to trust our Team’s mantra, “A Leap of Faith”, that has sustained us all along the way. Faith in ourselves and each other, faith in those we serve, and faith in God that we can always find a way.
In considering all the above, we look for signs that we are delivering with our program. That became clear to me today as I met with an old friend and firefighter who shared with me his progress in the work with his clinician and how much better his life has become. He spoke of his visits to the First Responder Support Team office, where our Team began, to see his clinician. He also spoke of how when he is sometimes troubled, he simply stops by the FRST office, without an appointment, and sits in the waiting room and relaxes because it simply makes him feel safe. Thank you for sharing your experience, my friend, for the goal of this program has always been to create an environment where our emergency services personnel could feel safe. Your comment makes it all worthwhile for us and keeps us grounded with an eye for the future.
Special thanks to Laura Tait, Kim Logan, and Laura Hare in that office, and for all of our other clinicians throughout our State, for being there for our people in need. We are proud to serve with you all.